Boyaca, a state in Columbia , is well known for a tradition of excellent artistic workmanship.  This region was inhabited by the Muisca, an important pre-Hispanic culture recognized by their hand knotted textile ability, before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors.  In modern times, men and women of this region are knotting by hand (macramé) beautiful shawls and scarves using silk ribbon (galon de seda). 

The size of the macramé shawls may vary slightly from one to the other but they are overall between 60”-65” length x 28” width x 17 ½” french.  The shawls are triangular in shape. 
 
To make the shawls and scarves, different threads are knotted intermingling creating amazing artistic designs.  As you can imagine if you know macrame, many hours of labor are involved to create each beautiful shawl

Ancient civilizations that used to inhabit the Nilo and Egeo, as well as Peru and Australia used this technique to make fish nets. It is believed that the macramé technique (modern art of decorating with knots) originated in the 13th century with the Arabian weavers.  The art of macramé was taken to Spain with the conquest by the Moorish who dominated Spain for many centuries; from there it spread to the rest of Europe and then to the Americas with the Spanish discovery of the Americas. 

Sailors were key in keeping this ancient Arab art alive.  To past the time at sea, sailors used to make macramé objects that later will sell or barter at ports.   Little by little, macramé started to develop into more artistic work and the penetration into elegance began during the Victorian era.  Early in the XX century, fashion called for macramé everywhere. 

Click on Shawls to learn about other type of shawls and their history.